System for skin treatment application

ABSTRACT

A system and method for the application of a skin care product including a special applicator termed a fingerlette, a spatulette and a palette. The spatulette is used to transfer a skin care product from a its native container to the palette which is then dapped or patted by the fingerlette which transfers some of the product to the adsorbent surface of the fingerlette which is then applied to the skin for even application. Because all product is transferred to the skin, the system is especially advantageous for conservation of costly skin care preparations.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation In Part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/455,095

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Applicators for treatment products for the skin, especially applicators for cosmetics and therapeutic skin preparations, are well known in the art and encompass powder puffs, sponges and brushes among others. While these applicators may work adequately for their intended purpose, they tend to waste product by absorbing a significant amount into the applicator itself, inefficiently and unevenly deposit the product upon the skin, and allow the product to stain one's hands or penetrate under the fingernails. Sponges in particular, while effective at blotting product once applied to the skin, tend to soak up product making it unavailable to the user. Brushes are adequate for the application of product, however, they absorb the foundation making it unavailable to the user. Unless the user is skilled at using a brush they can get a streaky or uneven application. In addition brushes must be cleaned after each use or they will foster the growth of bacteria. Using uncovered fingers is troublesome because this may soil or otherwise contaminate the product container while having the undesirable consequence of depositing product under the finger nails. Artificial nails are frequently discolored when applying colored or dyed products, and once this type of product gets under finger nails, it is difficult to remove.

What is needed is a system possessing an application means that would provide at least two smooth working surfaces in order to non-retentively transfer a skin care product away from the working surfaces and onto the face, while providing a barrier against staining one's fingers, hands and clothing as well as permitting the even distribution of skin care product on the face.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system for applying a skin treatment product including at least the following tools (1) a fingerlette for the application of a skin care product to the skin, a (2) palette for the retention of skin care product, and (3) a spatulette for the transfer of skin care product from its native container to the palette.

For the purposes of this application, fingerlette is defined as an elastic cover having a closed end and an open end, with a waisted, or narrowing portion between the closed and open ends; the fingerlette sized for the insertion of at least two adult fingers and the waisted portion snugly retaining the fingerlette to the fingers.

The fingerlette is a cover or pouch made preferably of nitrile and has a closed end and an open end which possesses a waisted opening having a mouth sufficient to accommodate the entry of at least two fingers. The cover is slid over the fingers, and after loading with a skin care product from the palette, is drawn over the surface of the skin such as a face, to evenly distribute the product over the skin surface. A slight tapering beginning just above the mouth forms the waist and produces a narrowing of the mouth diameter relative to the closed end. Because the width of the mouth is smaller the greater part of the cover, a girdling effect serves to secure the cover upon the fingers regardless of the direction the cover is being drawn across the skin's surface. The cover may be removed by using the fingers of the opposite hand to peel the waist portion over the greater part of the cover, turning the cover inside out and segregating any unused product within for disposal, or alternately by simply pulling at the tip end of the cover. Far less product is consulted than current applicators because none of the product penetrates into a sponge or brush and becomes unavailable for use. The applicator is designed for multiple applications of a skin care product.

The spatulette is a small narrow spatula for transfer of skin care products from a native container, such as a commercial container, vial, tub or other, to the palette which is preferably a small palette-shaped plate of acrylic. Transferring skin care products is accomplished by opening the native container, dipping the spatulette into the container to retrieve the product, and transfering the product to the palette's surface. If mixing with an additional product is desired, the spatulette can be cleaned, or a new spatulette selected for dipping into a second container.

The palette is made preferably of a hard smooth plastic to facilitate cleaning and can be of a solid color or possess graphic detailing such as the logo or branding of a particular line of skin care product, including cosmetics.

Because the nitrile fingerlette is adsorbent, most of the skin care product transfers readily to the absorbent skin resulting in the economical application of expensive skin care preparations.

It is felt that the present invention has several advantageous attributes while overcoming the shortcomings of previous applicators. At least some of the advantages are, avoiding cross-contamination of skin care products, avoiding the transfer of foundation or other cosmetic preparations on the fingers and under the nails, avoiding waste of skin care products.

One object of the present invention is to assist in the even application of a skin care product upon a body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide fingertip control over the application of a product upon a body.

Another object of the present invention is if desired, to segregate and contain post-application unused skin care product to prevent the soiling of hands or clothing.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent the cross-contamination of skin care products with bacteria from the skin.

Still another object of the present invention is to save skin care product by avoiding the absorption of skin care preparations during application.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an application tool(s) that may be cleaned readily by wiping with a tissue or cloth.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and charts, wherein by way of illustration and example, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a grouping of the tools comprising the present system, the palette 14, the spatulette 12, and the fingerlette 10;

FIGS. 2-5 according to an embodiment of the present invention, depict steps of applying a skin care product;

FIG. 6 shows a typical removal process of turning the fingerlette inside out;

FIG. 7 according to one embodiment of the present invention, is a plan view of the fingerlette;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 4′-4′ of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the molding form producing the fingerlette;

FIG. 10 is a edge view of the molding form producing the fingerlette.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference Listing

-   10 fingerlette -   10 a closed end -   10 b mid-section -   10 c waisted portion -   10 d opening -   12 spatulette -   14 palette -   16 wall of fingerlette -   18 cavity of fingerlette

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-5, a system for applying a skin care product to the skin includes at least the following tools: a fingerlette 10, a spatulette 12 and a palette 14. A skin care product can be applied by following the steps: opening the container of desired product, and scooping a desired amount of skin care product with the spatulette 12, and, transfering the product to the palette 14 via the spatulette 12, and loading the fingerlette 10 with product obtained from the surface of the palette, and apply the skin care product to the skin.

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 depict respectively, a plan view and a sectional view of the fingerlette 10 taken along lines 4′-4′ of FIG. 3 which shows an opening 10 d, a surface 16 and a cavity 18 that stretches to accommodate the fingers of a user. The fingerlette also has a closed end 10 a, a mid-section 10 b, and a waisted section 10 c occurring where the mid-section narrows to opening 10 d which is sized to permit the insertion of at least two adult fingers. The closed end 10 a has a semi-rounded shape and together with the mid-section 10 b, forms the greater part of the fingerlette which is capable of releasably retaining an amount of a skin care product such as a lotion or cosmetic. Typically, the fingerlette is worn over the index and middle finger(s) and is loaded with the amount of skin care product by dipping or patting onto loaded palette 14′. The skin care product is transferred to the skin by patting or sliding the fingerlette across the skin surface as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 to distribute the product evenly.

The mid-section 10 b is at least 25% wider than the opening 10 d owing to a the tapered waist portion 10 c, which also produces a girdling effect so the fingerlette is secured to the fingers regardless of the direction it is drawn across the skin's surface. Moreover, the relatively wider mid-section allows the fingers to move freely for fine control over the application process as for example, applying more pressure with one finger as opposed to the other.

Referring again to FIG. 6, once the skin care product application process is concluded, one method of removing the applicator is to turn the fingerlette inside out by pulling the waist portion 10 c up and over the remainder of the fingerlette thus isolating any unused product and avoiding staining of the hands or clothing. Another method of removal is to simply pull the closed end 10 a free of the fingers when the fingerlette is being used for multiple applications of the same skin care product.

The fingerlette may be manufactured using substantially the same process as the manufacture of nitrile or latex gloves in which a plastic, ceramic, stainless-steel or glass form is dipped into a rubber formulation one or more times while rotating the form to promote evenness of rubber application. If latex is used, once the covers are dry upon the forms, they are typically dipped into a water bath or a caustic agent such as sodium hydroxide to remove excess proteins. The rubber products are scored to produce a separation line, and then removed from the form.

Referring generally to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the form 24 used in the dipping process is paddle shaped with a greater width 20 and the lesser width 22, with the lesser width being preferably between 50%-75% of the greater width and most preferably between 60%-70% of the greater width. The raw applicator when scored and removed from the form with opening 10 d is preferably between 66%-80% of the width of the mid-section 10 c, and most preferably between 70%-75% of the width of the mid-section. Average wall thickness is preferably between 3.0 and 6.0 mil, while more preferably between 4.0 and 5.0 mil, and ideally between 3.5 and 4.5 mil.

While the invention has been described by the embodiments given, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A system for the non-retentive transfer of a skin care product from a container to the skin surface comprising: a spatulette possessing a handle portion and a scoop portion; and, a palette; and, a fingerlette having an adsorbent surface and a waisted portion; and, the system in which the skin care product is transferred initially (i) from a native container by the spatulette, then (ii) from the spatulette to the surface of the palette, then, (iii) from the palette to the surface of the fingerlette, and then (iv) from the fingerlette to the skin surface.
 2. The system of claim 1, in which the waisted portion of the fingerlette acts as a girdle to hold the fingerlette securely to the fingers.
 3. The system of claim 1, in which a plurality of fingerlettes can be packaged and stored stacked and flat.
 4. A method for applying a skin care product comprising the following steps: (i) transfering an amount of product to a palette with a spatulette; and, (ii) transfering a amount of product to a fingerlette having an adsorbent surface by dipping or patting the fingerlette against the palette; and, (iii) distributing the product over a skin surface by patting and rubbing for an evenness of application; and, (iv) repeating any of the foregoing steps (i-iii) as required; and, (v) in case of a one-time use, removing the elastic finger cover from the fingers by grasping the opening of the fingerlette and pulling the waisted portion up and over the body of the fingerlette so as to turn the fingerlette inside out. 